Magadh Mahila College in Patna has introduced a ban on dresses girls wear in the college.

Magadh Mahila College in Patna has introduced a ban on dresses girls wear in the college. The college authorities have banned jeans and Patiala suits on the campus. (Image: ANI)

Magadh Mahila College in Patna has introduced a ban on dresses girls wear in the college. The college authorities have banned jeans and Patiala suits on the campus. The administration has also banned the use of mobile phones in classrooms. The new dress code will be introduced from January 2018. In her statement, Shashi Sharma, Principal of the college has said that the request had come from the girls themselves, to bring in the dress code as there is a social disparity in the college. She further said that Muslim girls have not objected as they don’t wear jeans. Pointing out the Hindu girls on campus, she said, “Dresses worn by Hindu girls were embarrassing.”

Speaking about the ban on mobile phones in the classroom, the principal said, that the college is not modern and they do think traditionally. She further said, there are zones where students can use mobiles. “There’s mobile-free zone where phones can be used, not in classrooms. Ours isn’t a modern college that it can take such modernity. We think traditionally & are miles away from modernity. It’ll take us 50 years to reach there.” Speaking about the ban, General Secretary, Laila Qazmi said that ban on jeans is an old rule and use of mobile phones was always prohibited. Further commenting on the order, she said, the dress code will bring uniformity among the girls. Maintaining what Shashi Sharma said, Qazmi also asserted that the phones can be used in the mobile free zones. Adding that, “Girls never objected to the dress code, in fact, they had requested for it the in the first place.”

Magadh Mahila College is one of the oldest women’s college in Patna, Bihar and is affiliated to Patna University. This is not the first time, earlier in 2013, the college had banned the students from wearing T-shirts and sleeveless tops. The administration had cited the need to “maintain decorum” in the college as the reason behind the order. However, this not the first college to change the dress code. Last year, St Xavier’s College, Mumbai, had rolled out a notice banning ripped and torn jeans on campus. The ban was put forth after some professors complained about it. Commenting on the ban, the Principal Agnelo Menezes said, “We don’t allow sleeveless and short clothes on campus. Recently, we added ripped jeans to the list.”